Five Frugal Things | homeschool books, taco truck sauce, and more
1. I sold Zoe's school books.
She finished school last week and I listed, sold, and shipped her non-consumable textbooks.
Yay!
(The nice thing about your youngest kid finishing books is that you can get rid of them! No more schoolbook storage once she's done with them.)
I'm not super motivated re-seller, but books don't feel super overwhelming to list and sell. And that's why this was so prompt.
I used eBay for both of these sales; I tried Facebook but got no bites.
2. I used up condiments from the taco truck.
Mr. FG and I had gone to the taco truck for a date night (food trucks can make for a nice cheap date!), and we had been given more salsa and hot sauce than we needed.
So, I used the extra on some some eggs and squash that I cooked for my lunch.
3. I got a boogie board at Costco.
We're planning a beach vacation and discovered we needed a new boogie board. I remembered Costco carries decent boards in the summer, so I picked one up for $29.99.
When I got home, I googled the board and discovered that it sells for around double that elsewhere.
Yay, Costco!
4. I used $20 of Old Navy credits.
Sonia needed some shorts, so when I saw that Old Navy was having a 50% off shorts sale, we headed over.
I had two $10 Old Navy reward certificates, so I used those toward the shorts too.
5. I...
packed a lunch for Mr. FG (leftovers in reusable containers), cooked dinner at home, and batched errands in conjunction with Sonia's allergy shot.
Share your own Five Frugal Things in the comments!
1. Some bananas were getting old on the counter, so when I saw your chocolate banana muffin recipe, I jumped right on it! I had just bought mini chocolate chips that went great with it, and had some Greek yogurt on hand.
2. My husband's birthday was on Memorial Day. He has been wanting a food processor that I purchased from Bed Bath and Beyond. They had a different one in stock than the one I had looked at, and I needed to get some more information on it. Instead of googling it, I made the effort to talk to a salesperson on the floor. It paid off because she noticed a price match that was $20 cheaper than the floor price, plus I was able to use my 20% off coupon. The cashier didn't know about the price match, but the floor salesperson was super helpful and came to my rescue to confirm the cheaper price.
3. I baked a cake for my husband's birthday, and we ordered out cheap Chinese food that fed 11 people, plus some leftover for lunch. For the same price, only my husband and I would have been able to eat out at a sit-down restaurant.
4. No travel on Memorial Day weekend, just enjoying the pool that just opened.
5. I purchased a new swim suit this weekend, and got a Memorial Day sale price. A little pricey still, but I know the brand and have been super happy with it for the last 2 years, meaning I use it longer. Now I have two swim suits that I can rotate with when one is drying.
Yay! I'm so glad the muffin recipe was good timing.
Swim suits always seem awfully expensive for something so small, but you are right: paying more for one usually means that you can get more seasons of use out of it.
Yes, we all loved them! I used 1/4th of cup of whole wheat, and nobody complained 🙂
Swim suits are so difficult to fit and I've gone through several cheaper ones I ended up not liking. Once I've found one I feel comfortable in, I'm happy to pay a little more.
We needed flippers and snorkel masks for a trip a few years ago. Costco had great quality sets for a super good price.
They also have packs of Speedo goggles at a great price.
My give frugal things
1. Made pulled pork bbq with a pork roast that a friend gave us when cleaning out her freezer.
2. Was gifted two containers of leftover pasta salad. Used it for several meals.
3. Got to pick through a friends yard sale items for free. Got a bike helmet, paint, a new craft kit, some electrical supplies and other items.
4. Am investing in good dog clippers so we can stop paying a groomer every month
5. Line drying laundry between storms!
Ohhh, nuts! I should have looked for goggles too because all of ours have mysteriously disappeared since last summer. I have no idea where they all went.
1. I went to a national park over the long weekend, a mix of frugal and not frugal. Frugal: packed snacks and water bottles; free entrance because I had a 4th grader with me. Not exactly frugal: bought only uncommon candy from the historical candy store. Not Frugal: bought (an inexpensive) lunch at a coffee shop and left a 50% tip and note to the manager because the staff were awesome and probably were high school/college students; bought two new books and a kit. Frugal: contacted kit company because kit was defective; kit company offered to refund the full price.
2. Bought several dozen packets of lunchmeat before the coupons expired.
3. Still cooking at home for almost every meal. No eating out just because I'm tired - that's what frozen pizza or dimsum is for.
4. Returned to farmer's market for price adjustment, when I realized they'd charged me full price for the apples instead of the seconds price.
5. Arranged to use a 2 year old gift certificate for a summer crab/seafood feast for 10, for Supper Club in August. I'm pleased that I knew where the certificate was.
6. Traded all the points on one credit card for Visa gift cards. It was $1200! Clearly I waited too long to take advantage of that card's points. I'll be cancelling that card in a couple of months, which will likely increase my credit rating, which may save me money down the road.
WilliamB...I've always heard it can lower your credit rating to cancel a credit card. I think the credit rating is figured on how much available credit your worth compared to how much you owe. So if you cancel a card having, say, a $5000 limit, you have reduced your available credit by that much. That's simplistic and probably garbled but I suggest googling the premise before canceling a card. Sometimes there would be no disadvantage.
WilliamB, I agree with Shirley on this for the reason she gives. Please Google for info before cancelling the card.
Thanks for trying to look out for me, fellow readers! What Shirley and KT says is correct but there is additional relevant information: I have a lot more credit than I use. This can decrease a credit score because the consumer can acquire a great deal more debt without notice or hindrance.
IOW, a consumer with $50,000 in credit but who typically carries a $5000 balance, will probably have a lower credit score than one with $10,000 in credit who carries a $5000 balance.
I'll lean in agreement with Shirley and KT on this, and disagree with the last example. A $5000 balance on $50,000 limit is only using 10% of the available credit. A $5000 balance on $10,000 means 50% of the available credit is being used.
Of the components of the credit score, paying on time is most important, followed by amount of available credit. Then are length of credit history, types of credit, and new credit.
If one has enough credit and isn't looking to open more in the near future, the credit score doesn't matter, (though some reports say that insurance, employment, etc., look at credit score). If a person always pays on time, it doesn't matter what the interest rates are. I haven't read about having too much unused credit as something that hurts a credit score; on the contrary, it seems the reverse is true.
In any case, keeping track of your spending is the bottom line right decision!
Just to add more info(confusion?)-
AMEX decreased my credit limit because I was not using anywhere close to the limit. I also pay it in full each month. A few weeks later I was informed that my credit score had a slight decrease. It feels like you can't win if you are being responsible.
1. I have made the switch to all Pyrex storage with plastic lids. They are heavy for packing lunch, but you can SEE what's in them, which probably saves money, as things get eaten.
2. See above. I pack my lunch, breakfast, and snacks.
3. Making a meal plan, which helps immensely with my hungry teenagers home for summer and working full time at farm jobs.
4. Aldi's almost exclusively except filling in around edges with Publix sale, etc.
5. Hmmmmmm. These all have to do with food. Cancelled two monthly subscription fees, as I don't use them.
Just a heads up, we recently had to buy a replacement pack for our Pyrex lids. Some of our frequently used ones were cracking, even though we hand wash them. They gave us a good 3 years though 🙂 And I'm grateful they offer just the lids, so we didn't have to buy new containers.
1.) Went off to a town wide yard sale with my wife. Sure we spent gas and all that but we had fun. We also bought my daughter her entire summer wardrobe for around $10 (if only buying work shirts for me was so easy!) My wife also found a lightly used Coach purse (not a logo covered one) for all of $15.
2.) Did some grocery shopping and resisted buying snacks and some other stuff that we really don't need and shouldn't eat.
3.) Got a fantastic deal on some Nordic Ware cake pans. They are the ones that ATK recommends and I paid around $7 each. I also passed on a sale at WS on the Goldtouch loaf pans. The $3 Big Lots ones still work so I don't *need* a new bread pan.
4.) Needed a new filter for my lawn tractor. $20 from Tractor Supply, $7 online. I like to support brick and mortar but not with that markup.
5.) Buying a ticket for an upcoming movie event in person vs online saves me the $1.50 "service fee" (aka the ripoff fee.)
1. Used a two-item coupon at Michael's to buy a grad banner and cupcake flags.
2. Found a brand new set of cloth napkins at the thrift store and when I got to the cash register I discovered all kitchen items were 40% off.
3. Planning spaghetti next week to use more of the never-ending free pasta from the college clear-out. I still have one unopened package of linguine.
4. Cleaning everyone's shoes for graduation tomorrow. Much better than buying new footwear none of us really need.
5. Had all the supplies for the chocolate cupcakes my graduate asked for instead of a cake.
Hugely proud of my girl for graduating without any debt. She earned a scholarship, two bursaries and worked part-time.
Woohoo! That's so great that she's got no debt. What an accomplishment!
I wasn't very frugal this week : due to a GRAD PARTY on Saturday and a WEDDING SHOWER on Sunday ( younger son, older son's fiance).
I bought 2019 decor 90 % off after new years for part of party decorations. This was a tip from the facebook group: Grown and Flown
We reused my older son's cap and gown for the younger son....just bought a new tassel.
I bought a big detergent for 3.99 from walgreens...usually 9.99.
I printed all senior pics at walgreens and did not pay a photographer.
I got the wedding shower gifts on clearance over the last six months!
What a genius idea to get year deviations after New Year's!!
1. Great but sort of embarrassing … I was filing some papers and came across two savings bonds made out to me that were really, really old. We’re talking decades here. How did I not know I had them all these years?! The good news is that they totaled over $300. The bad news is that they stopped earning interest several years ago. When I went to deposit them, the person at the credit union and I had a good laugh together.
2. Twice recently, I’ve gotten free samples at Sam’s of laundry detergent pods. I have to admit – they are convenient to use. But I’m still too cheap to buy them. I’ll keep dutifully measuring out my laundry powder.
3. Said yes (happily) to a few extra work shifts.
4. I’d found out a while back that chocolate chips at my grocery store were less expensive per ounce in the smaller bag, rather than the larger. I just realized that sour cream is the same way – the larger container is more per ounce than the smaller one. This is counterintuitive to me, but it’s a lesson for me to remember to check unit prices.
5. I’d been needing another pair of reading glasses (my old pair broke) and even though the dollar store isn’t far away, I waited and combined that trip with another errand in the same shopping center.
Some people might think that boogie board at Costco is expensive (and compared to cheap beach shops it is more expensive) but the quality is so good! We bought one 3 years ago and have been loving it! Won’t buy one anywhere else if we can help it! My kids don’t care about price when they’re using it, only about how well it works and holds up to the waves. I’m the same way I’d rather pay for a good quality that holds up!
Yep, this has been true in our experience with boogie boards. Those cheapie foam ones from the beach stores break in a hurry and then they are unusable. But the ones we've bought from Costco have held up vacation after vacation!
1) I bought a set of porch furniture for $175 that would have originally been purchased for over $500. The set is only a year old and had been sitting on someone's covered porch. When we got it home last night my husband and I sat on the porch way past our bedtimes just enjoying how fancy we felt. It is like your costco board--not a cheap thing purchased cheaply but an expensive, well made thing bought frugally.
2) I am enjoying leftovers for lunch and cooking a soup made with bone broth that I made from basically trash. Dinner Monday night was a pizza from Papa Johns bought with free points. Dinner last night was a piece of meat from Costco and vegetables from Aldi.
3) Our youngest is now seven weeks old, which means I am beginning to amass a pile of maternity clothes and baby clothes to consign. I am also filling my freezer with "free" breast milk. (I am blessed with a good supply. I have a milk catcher to capture the leakage of one breast while I nurse on the other. And I start within the first week pumping off an extra ounce from each breast each night. These ounces stack up and give me some milk in the bank for when baby goes to daycare and I don't always pump what he drinks.)
4) I am sitting in one of the old wicker chairs that came off our porch. It has seen better days, but I am thinking of painting it and repurposing it as an office chair. I have just been using an extra dining room chair at my desk for a year now, and I'm realizing that a comfortable chair can help you want to sit down and work.
5) The baby is sleeping in a travel sized crib I bought used for $10 nine years ago when I was expecting our oldest. I had a little bit of FOMO when friends were buying full size expensive brand new cribs. But now I realize how great this crib is. Our older three slept in it comfortably until they were two and a half-ish. And its small size means we can easily slide it between rooms (it has wheels), which was increasingly necessary as our house was filling up. It is very simple and elegant. When I am done with it, I will pass it along for free to another frugal mama.
This will be a "my husband went back in the hospital" and "Memorial Day" edition of Frugal Five.
1. We didn't go anywhere for Memorial Day; I cooked pastured pork ribs that I'd bought on sale from the farmer, with cheap sides of salad and corn on the cob, and made a no-bake, no-crust cream cheese pie from ingredients I'd gotten earlier at a great sale. I used BOGO organic blueberries to make the topping, instead of using canned topping.
2. After church, I stopped at a large but locally owned garden shop/hardware store to look for mulch. They had a surprise sale of 2 cu. ft. bags of mulch for $1 a bag. The clear bags were unlabeled, and said only "hardwood mulch." I strongly suspect they are the result of massive tree clearing after Hurricane Michael. I bought five bags.
3. Had to take my husband to the doctor on Tuesday, then on to the VA hospital 2 hours away after that, for tests. While there all day, I remembered that I had been given same-as-cash coupons to use at many of their eating stations, when staying with him 2 years ago during his surgery. I had stayed at Fisher House back then, and they gave them to me. I had used some and kept the remaining ones in my purse. I was able to purchase a dinner salad and a drink for free yesterday, with the coupons, and I still have some coupons left. (Fisher House provides free, NICE rooms with private baths plus kitchen use for spouses/families of vets in the hospital, if the family would have to travel over so many miles from home to be with the vet. Plus, the coupons and free reserved parking across the driveway from the hospital.)
4. I did not stop for gas in the town where the hospital is. It is crazy expensive, and I had enough to get home.
5. I bought two pairs of new-with-tags Gap and Old Navy slacks and the rest "pre-owned": a Lands' End cotton cardigan, a JJill tunic and a Chaps blouse, all in perfect shape, for $33 and change at a Goodwill. They charge more for new-with-tags, but I still paid much less than retail. The Gap pants were originally $49.50, marked down to $31.95, then the Goodwill price was $8.00. The Old Navy slacks had been almost $30 originally.
I'm so sorry that he had to be back in the hospital. How is he doing now?
Thanks for asking! It's been rough. He had an undetected infection, and in a diabetic, that creates further problems. Fevers have brought bouts of confusion and agitation. He's in good hands, but it's been quite a rough couple of weeks when this was building and we didn't know what was going on.
That does sound hard. I hope that things improve now that you guys have some answers.
My neighbors and I are frugal..neighbor teen invited me and his mom to pizza place to celebrate my 71st birthday. He forgot his wallet. Was embarrassed. His mom bought a large pizza, soft drink and two beers and we had a good time. 2. FOUND 2 AMAZING OLD LAMPS on my porch my neighbor got from an elderly cleaning client who is downsizing. One has blue toile printed shade and blue beaded fringe dripping from the shade. Don't know if I should laugh or cry looking at it..3. She and son also rescued an iron table that same day for me. Moved it to my back yard. It has marble tile squares for table top. SO money is not all that brings happiness
1. Our new home does not include trash pick up in the taxes So, I have been shopping around for trash pick up. Surprisingly, there is a big difference in price between all of the companies that service our area.
2. Got free moving boxes from neighbors by posting on Next Door
3. Submitted my expense report at work for mileage driving to off- site meetings. Its averages $12 per month, so why not?
4. Planted our vegetable garden this weekend! We rent a space at a community garden. The rent ($25) includes water, our space, gardening tools and supplies, and shared herbs, fruit treea, and berries. So worth it!
5. Used pantry/freezer items to make breakfasts and lunches for the week. Fruit compote, made from leftover pieces of fruit I freeze and then cook down, over oatmeal for breakfast. With eggs, local asparagus, spinach, and sundried tomatoes for lunch. Spent $3 on all for the week. Cheap and healthy!
1. Made homemade wedding cards for two weddings we are going to instead of buying them. Bought $100 worth of gift cards to a local restaurant for $70 for one of the weddings.
2. Made muffins with Raisin Bran cereal no one was eating and made two more batches of baby food (peach mango and roasted red pepper).
3. Planted a bunch of seeds from last year in our garden. Hopefully soon we will have a bunch of yummy veggies to show for it.
4. Used a coupon to buy baby wipes ahead of time instead of running out and having to go to the store.
5. Had a friend over for homemade cocktails instead of going out and spending money on drinks.
1- cleaned out the fridge at work on the last day of school( work in a preschool) and took home all the randomness the teachers left! Used the bananas, pudding cups and potato chips in the kids lunches the next 2 days! lol
2-Out of town travel for the girls LAST volleyball tournament this year( yes, a very unfrugal activity)- bought our admission tickets in advance saving $15+ on wristbands for husband and son...packed all our beverages, refillable bottles and snacks to pack in cooler and backpack to NOT buy overpriced stuff at tournament( 3 days).. Ate complimentary hotel breakfast and only paid for 1 meal per day... Used hotel transport van to take us to convention center and pick up instead of driving crazy PA highways and paying to park.. my tips came to the cost of 1 discount parking lot stay.
3-found a discount freezer shelf and bought some organic vegs that are perfect for adding to smoothies! .99 per bag
4- Took the coupons from the Sunday paper at the hotel breakfast room! lol
5- Meal prep and cooking even when things are crazy and I don't wanna!
Oh I love these posts!
1. Many of the items I bought at the grocery store were sale items.
2. We got 50 cent frosties from Wendys.
3. Baking some granola during our nightly free electricity rates.
4. Planning an end of the school year homeschool party with food I already have.
5. Turned the thermostat warmer so the ac wouldn't kick on as much.
I have been in Super-Budget mode since finding out last week that the plumbing in my 70-year old home needs to be replaced sooner rather than later. Sigh. The joys of home ownership. (Or, home moaner-ship as my friend says!) My goal is to save one-third of my income for plumbing over the next 3-4 months.
1. I used credit card points and a credit from a return on Amazon to purchase a birthday present for my brother. I am also obligated to host a party for him so if anyone has ideas for food that will feed a lot of people for not a lot of money, I am all ears. (But not too carb heavy as there are several diabetics in the mix.)
2. I am packing lunches every day. I was pretty good at this even before Super-Budget, but I am better at remembering it EVERY day when I know the alternative is to go hungry until dinner.
3. I compiled a list of gift cards and shopping rewards I have available so that if I am just dying for a treat, I can easily get something with no money out of pocket.
4. I found some alternative limited ingredient, grain-free cat foods that are a bit less expensive for my allergy-prone cat. Because spending over $100 a month on food for 2 cats is a little ridiculous.
5. I re-evaluated my budget and expenses to trim the fat, so to speak. Goodbye Netflix. We had a good thing going. I will miss you.
For parties, we usually do either a taco bar or a baked potato bar. Taco bar (with shredded lettuce for taco salads) would probably be lower in carbs. If you have a GFS (Gordon food services), they sell trays of pulled pork that are good for feeding a crowd pretty easily and not too expensively.
I make pulled pork bbq in my crock pot. Buy a pork roast and a 2 liter bottle of root beer. Put pork in crock pot, put in enough root beer to cover roast. Cook 5 hrs or so on high. Take pork out and shred. Add bbq sauce or whatever you want. Simple, easy, cheap. A low carb way to serve it is layered with baked beans and coleslaw. Sounds odd but tastes soooo good.
Thank you for the suggestions! Those are great ideas!
I was going to suggest Tex-Mex as well. Most of the ingredients are relatively inexpensive - dried beans, rice, torillas, cheese, jarred salsa, hot sauce, chopped onion, chopped lettuce, sour cream usually don't cost much.
The meat and the guac can add up. For the meat, I suggest buying inexpensive cuts (beef round, chicken thighs) and making pulled meat by simmering the meat in salsa or BBQ sauce. Using smaller serving bowls and utensils for these will subtly discourage people from taking a lot.
Watermelon is also inexpensive, especially if your store sells the full size, with-seeds ones.
Thank you WilliamB. I did consider watermelon as a side. I am not a huge fan but the family is, and nothing says a summer party like a juicy watermelon.
Watermelon is a great idea!